Kevin Durant Reacts to Team USA’s First Olympic Victory

It was not known whether Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant would even participate in the Olympics after a calf injury kept him out of all five of Team USA’s exhibition games.

Durant not only played a role in the Americans’ opening victory over Serbia in Paris, he was also one of the main reasons Team USA started their campaign with a win.

Durant came on as a substitute and scored 23 points on eight of nine shots from the field, including 5 of 5 three-pointers to beat Serbia.

Durant didn’t miss a shot in the first half:

According to ESPN, Durant has never scored 20 points on 100 percent from the field in any half of his NBA career, including the postseason. Durant finished with 21 points on 8-8 shooting in the first half.

“The energy here was unbelievable and there were so many people supporting basketball. It’s just awesome to see,” Durant said in a postgame interview with NBC.

“My legs felt great. I’ve been training with these guys for the last few weeks and I couldn’t wait to get out on the pitch. The coaching staff have done a great job with me, so I’m happy to be out there with the guys and be part of the team. It’s a great first start for us.”

The United States will play their second match against South Sudan on Wednesday.